Illinois State Police ran 1,452 underage buy attempts in the last fiscal year. Six ended in a sale.

Illinois State Police made 1,452 attempted cannabis purchases with underage buyers in fiscal year 2026, which ended June 30, and six of those attempts ended in a sale, according to the police section of the state's 2026 Annual Cannabis Report (page 51). The report, dated September 30, combines sections from several state agencies. The Marijuana Herald also reported the figures.

By our math, 1,446 of the 1,452 attempts, about 99.6 percent, did not end in a sale. The report doesn't say how many of the attempts were at dispensaries versus other licensees. ISP calls these operations "under 21 covert details."

Inside the inspection numbers

ISP's Cannabis Control Office inspects licensed facilities every month. For FY2026, the report says:

• 7,787 inspections at cultivation centers, dispensaries, craft growers, infusers and transporters.
• 996 violations identified. ISP sent 648 to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which licenses dispensaries, and 348 to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, which licenses growers, infusers and transporters.
• 85 referrals from police, the public and the industry.
• 4,704,063 plants and products counted during inspections.

The section lists 280 licensed dispensaries, 20 cultivation centers, 29 craft growers, 19 infusers and 143 transporters (page 55). A chart on page 53 shows 100 percent monthly inspection completion for licensed facilities. Separately, the report's IDFPR section says the agency issued 29 operational dispensary licenses in FY2026, growing retail locations by over 10 percent. IDFPR, which licenses dispensaries, received 648 of the 996 violations ISP reported.

Separately, the report says ISP's investigative zones seized about 4.9 million grams of illicit cannabis, around 5.4 tons. It gives two street-value estimates: $34,803,624 on page 51, and approximately $34,573,223 in the Division of Criminal Investigation narrative on page 62. The report doesn't explain the difference, and both are ISP estimates, not market figures.

What the report doesn't say

The police section doesn't name the six businesses that sold to underage buyers or say what discipline followed, as the Marijuana Herald also noted. In the pages we read, it doesn't break the 996 violations down by type, so the report alone can't show how many were serious.

There's also a small internal mismatch on staffing. The FY27 goals on page 52 refer to nineteen current Cannabis Control Office inspectors, while page 56 says "20 Inspectors in FY26." ISP says it plans to hire four more Internal Security Investigators in FY2027 and aims to keep up 100 percent monthly inspection completion.

Why it matters

Illinois law limits adult-use cannabis sales to people 21 and over. The report describes the covert details but not their method. It also says ISP will keep working with IDFPR and IDOA on standardized inspection protocols under SB 3222 (Public Act 104-0463), which it calls the Cannabis and Hemp Omnibus.

Sources

• 2026 Annual Cannabis Report, Illinois State Police section, pages 49 to 57 (PDF)
• The Marijuana Herald, October 5, 2026

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